Teaser Tuesdays: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

One of the many thousands of editions

The 4th of July is right around the corner -- Independence Day, one of the most important days in our calendar here in the US. But the date is important for another reason, too. July 4, 1862, is traditionally remembered as the day Charles Dodgson (aka, Lewis Carroll) first began telling his tale of Wonderland to the ten-year-old Alice Liddell, as they were rowing (along with her two sisters and the Reverend Robinson Duckworth) on the Thames near Oxford. A fateful day, indeed.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its companion book, Through the Looking-Glass, were my favorite books when I was a child; and I still love them and still re-read them from time to time. And since this is a commemorative year (the first Alice book was published 150 years ago, in 1865), I thought I'd use an Alice quote for my teaser this week. This snippet is from Chapter VI ("Pig and Pepper") -- Alice has been holding the Duchess's crying baby, but notices that it seems to be turning into a pig (yes, an actual pig -- that sort of thing happens a lot in Wonderland):

So she set the little creature down, and felt quite relieved to see it trot away quietly into the wood. 'If it had grown up,' she said to herself, 'it would have made a dreadfully ugly child: but it makes rather a handsome pig, I think.' And she began thinking over other children she knew, who might do very well as pigs, and was just saying to herself, 'if one only knew the right way to change them—' when she was a little startled by seeing the Cheshire Cat sitting on a bough of a tree a few yards off.

The Alice books are true classics that appeal to both young and older readers, and so much literature and art references them. If you haven't read them, you're really missing something.

Alice with pig baby. Drawing by John Tenniel.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

And please feel free to leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in your comment here.

Book Beginnings: Love May Fail

Love May Fail, by Matthew Quick (Harper / June 16, 2015). First paragraph of the book:

I'm kneeling in one of my own bedroom closets -- peering E.T.-like through the white door slats -- when the following epiphany hits me harder than a lawn dart to the eye: I am a disgraceful woman.

My Thoughts:

Pretty good opening, I think. Mysterious and humorous at the same time. I think it's hooked me -- at least for now.

Wish the cover was a little more interesting (even though I'll be reading it on my Kindle, I still check out the covers).

Matthew Quick is the author of the best-selling Silver Linings Playbook, which I haven't read. I did read The Good Luck of Right Now, his humorous novel from last year -- which I loved. I've heard great things about this latest work -- haven't actually started reading it, but it's probably next on my list.

So, what do you think? Would that opening inspire you to go on reading?

Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. As she says, the idea is to post the first sentence (or so) of the book you're currently reading, along with any first impressions or thoughts you have about the book, the author, etc.  It's a wonderful way of adding new books to your must-read list, and a chance to connect with other readers and bloggers.

Teaser Tuesdays: Pines

I started watching Wayward Pines on the Fox Network a few weeks ago, and I'm afraid I'm hooked. So I thought I'd check out the series of books the show is based on. Written by Blake Crouch, the first book is Pines (Thomas & Mercer, 2012), and this snippet comes from p.171 of the Kindle edition:

"Every telephone in every house in Wayward Pines is ringing right now. People are being told to find and kill you."

Real friendly place, that Wayward Pines. Yes, indeed.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

And please feel free to leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in your comment here.

Teaser Tuesdays: As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust

This week my teaser lines come from As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust, the 7th  book in Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce Mystery series.  I read this one earlier this year, but haven't reviewed it yet. This snippet comes from Chapter Five (page 77):

Who was she? How had she died? How long had she been hidden in the chimney?
And -- most tantalizing -- how and why had she come to be wrapped in a Union Jack?

Well, those are all very good questions, aren't they?  Flavia does lead an interesting life -- especially for a twelve-year-old.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

And please feel free to leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in your comment here.

Book Beginnings: A Head Full of Ghosts

I've been reading a lot of ghost stories and scary stuff this year. Didn't really plan it that way -- just the way it's turned out. Haven't started this one yet, but I've got it on the list for this month: A Head Full of Ghosts, by Paul Tremblay (William Morrow & Co., 2015). These are the first lines of Chapter 1:

"This must be so difficult for you, Meredith."
Best-selling author Rachel Neville wears a perfect fall ensemble: dark blue hat to match her sensible knee-length skirt and a beige wool jacket with buttons as large as kitten heads.

Initial Thoughts:

Well, that doesn't seem very spooky, does it?  Hmmm.  I guess my first thought is that generally I don't take to books that start off with a description of what someone is wearing -- just a little too "chick lit" for me, I guess.  (Not that there's anything wrong with chick lit. Just not a genre I usually enjoy.) However, I'm really loving "buttons as large as kitten heads."  So, it's definitely got my attention for now.

Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. As she says, the idea is to post the first sentence (or so) of the book you're currently reading, along with any first impressions or thoughts you have about the book, the author, etc.  It's a wonderful way of adding new books to your must-read list, and a chance to connect with other readers and bloggers.

Teaser Tuesdays: Some Tame Gazelle

This week, in honor of Barbara Pym's birthday (she was born June 2, 1913 / and died in 1980) I thought it would be fun to take my teaser lines from one of her books. It's hard to choose -- I love everything she wrote. And it's very hard to limit myself to two sentences. So I'm just using the opening lines from her first book, Some Tame Gazelle:

The new curate seemed quite a nice young man, but what a pity it was that his combinations showed, tucked carelessly into his socks, when he sat down. Belinda had noticed it when they had met him for the first time at the vicarage last week and had felt quite embarrassed. Perhaps Harriet could say something to him about it. Her blunt jolly manner could carry off these little awkwardnesses much better than Belinda's timidity. Of course, he might think it none of their business, as indeed it was not, but Belinda rather doubted whether he thought at all, if one were to judge by the quality of his first sermon.

One of the most interesting things about the book is that even though it tells the story of two middle-aged spinster sisters and was published in 1950, Pym wrote it when she was quite a young woman -- in fact, she began writing it while she was still a student at Oxford in the 1930s. Many years later, she and her sister Hilary ended up living together in an arrangement similar to that of Belinda and Harriet Bede in the book. If you've never read anything by Barbara Pym and would like to sample something, Some Tame Gazelle is probably the most typical and accessible of all her works. And it's a lovely read.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

And please feel free to leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in your comment here.

Reading Update: Goodbye to May

Wow, June already! 2015 is racing right along, isn't it? During May, I read six books -- quite an accomplishment for someone who reads as slowly as I do. Here's what I read:

Beethoven's Tenth, by Brian Harvey
Gently Does It (Inspector George Gently #1), by Alan Hunter
The Ice Twins, by S.K. Tremayne
Jack of Spades, by Joyce Carol Oates
A Saintly Killing (Faith Morgan Mystery #3), by Martha Ockley
The Silence of Ghosts, by Jonathan Aycliffe

That puts my total for the year so far at twenty-six books, and means I'm still on track to reach my goal of at least fifty books. That is, if I can just keep up the pace.